Simple
by Pepperwood
Summary: Nick and Jess after the breakup.
1. Chapter 1

It had been one week. Seven grueling nights since Jessica Day had slept in his bed. Nick woke up and in his half sleeping state managed to forget for a split second. He stretched his arm out only to be reminded of the empty space on her side of the bed. He brought his hand to his face pressing his index finger and thumb into his eyeballs, images of her swirling around in his head.

He didn't want to move from his bed. He had spent most of this past week either in his room or picking up extra shifts at the bar. He had managed to avoid Jess for the most part; so far their plan of going back to being 'just friends' was not working.

Nick decided to get up and grab a late breakfast, it was a Saturday and he could hear the guys in the kitchen and hoped Schmidt had cooked something. He slowly made his way to the bar stools and sat down beside Winston. Schmidt was making something that resembled an omelet and turned around to hand Nick a generous helping. It wasn't long before there was an awkward silence, with the other two roommates staring at Nick as he ate with his hands, as he always said "I have two perfectly good forks on the end of my hands".

"Soooo" Winston tried to break the silence.

"Nick, my man, Nicholas" Schmidt said with a forced smile.

"What?" Nick said, less than impressed.

"Hey man, um...Jess hasn't got up yet, everything ok?" Winston chose his words carefully.

"How the hell would I know, Winston?" Nick said in an annoyed tone. "I'm sorry Winny, I know it's not your fault".

Schmidt decided to interrupt, "Damn right son, it's the fault of our very own Nicholas Miller".

Nick had lost his appetite, pushing his plate away. "You think I don't know that Schmidt? I'm trying".

"Well not hard enough!" Schmidt shouted a little too harshly and then looked down, he added in a softer voice "I mean look at where Cece and I ended up, learn from my mistakes".

Nick sighed, he knew his friend was right, not so long ago he promised to start making more grown up moves, well now was his chance to follow through with it. He took a deep breath and headed in the direction of her room, a determined look on his face but all of his courage faded when as he stood outside her door.

"Time to make more grown up moves", he said to himself under his breath as he raised his hand to knock her door, unsure if she would be willing to talk with him.


	2. Chapter 2

Jess was awake as she heard the familiar shuffle of his footsteps in front of her door. She was lying in bed, facing away from the doorway as she held her breath wondering if Nick would make a move or panic moonwalk away yet again. She closed her eyes trying to calm her emotions, how did he still have such a pull on her heart?

Then she heard him knocking at her door.

"Hey Jess" he said softly. If she had been asleep she wouldn't have heard him.

She dragged herself out of bed and walked over to open the door to find Nick standing there, two days worth of stubble on his face.

"Hey" she finally managed to say, "Want to come in?"

"Sure" he nodded.

As Nick clicked the door shut, Winston and Schmidt could feel the air thick with tension and decided to make a swift exit from apartment 4D.

"Nick, what are we doing here?" Jess said. She looked so small in her pyjamas with patterns of little kittens playing with balls of string on them.

"I don't know Jess, I wish I knew what to do, but I don't. What do _you _want?" Nick said, his voice breaking.

"All I know is I miss you, Nick. And this sure as hell isn't working."

For the first time since the breakup he really looked at her. Her eyes look tired and red from crying. Her eyes searched his, trying to find an answer.

"Yeah, it sucks." He forced a false smile on his face. "Umm, do you want to get breakfast? I mean eh...if you want...never mind it's a dumb idea, I'll just go.." He turned to leave but Jess grabbed him and pulled him in a tight embrace. Nick reacted and wrapped his arms around her.

"Sorry, I think I needed a hug...won't happen again." Jess quickly pulled back to see his reaction. She tried her best to avoid eye contact. She knows Nick hates hugs and now things were weird between them, she didn't know where they stand with one another.

"Come here" he said as he wrapped her in another hug. Nick let his brain switch off and let himself enjoy the moment, his head in the crook of her neck, breathing in her deliciously good 'Jessica Day' scent that was a mixture of vanilla and coconut. Eventually her stomach rumbled causing them to break apart as she nervously laughed.

"Breakfast sounds great. I'll get dressed. Give me five minutes." She gave him a flash of her smile as he left her room, closing the door behind him.

Jess pulled on her washed out jeans, a comfy purple jumper and her bright red pumps. She felt so nervous, she really wanted to get back to how things were. She ended it between them but now she was struggling to remember why. She loved Nick. She always had, even though she didn't realise it at the time and she always would, so why does everything feel so complicated when really it should be simple. Her head hurt from all the thoughts swirling around and from the bottle of pink wine she drank in an attempt to drown them out.

She walked to the front door to found Nick standing there waiting, shuffling his feet showing that he was as nervous as she was.

"Ready?" She asked.

"Yeah. It's a nice morning so I thought we could walk" Nick said hopefully, wanting this 'non-date' with Jess to last as long as possible. He really missed his friend.

"Sounds good. I'm starving."

* * *

As they walked together Jess noticed how Nick kept fidgeting with his hands. One minute they were in his trouser pockets, the next they were awkwardly held rigid at his sides. Without thinking she slipped her small hand into his, causing both of them to have flashbacks of his fathers funeral._ 'I'm going to be there and I'm going to hold your hand'. _God that felt like an eternity ago.

Jess looked up at him smiling to gauge his reaction. Nick tried his best to suppress the goofy grin that he wanted to show. What was he 12? But even so, it was nice to be spending time with Jess again.

Apart from hand holding and the odd playful shoulder bump, the walk to the cafe was relatively uneventful. Neither of them really saying much as they walked in a comfortable silence.

They sat down at a small table for two outside and they both ordered bacon, eggs and toast. When their order arrived Jess devoured the food.

"Woah Jessica slow down" Nick joked.

"Shut up _Nicholas_" Jess teased back. "You know this is all your fault."

"What? How's it my fault that you ate a whole piece of bacon in one go?" They both laughed at nothing in particular. "I have to admit I love a woman with an appetite."

When they had both finished eating Jess reached into her bag for her purse.

"Don't worry about it, my treat."

"Come on Nick, you don't have to."

"No, but I want to."

Jess shyly smiled at him. He really was a great guy and her best friend (sorry Cece) and she was crazy for letting him go.

They both left and began to head back to the apartment, but Jess really didn't want to go back so soon so she suggested a walk on the beach. Nick was happy he didn't have to come up with another reason to spend time with her. He really hated that things couldn't be simple between them again. It was ridiculous he had to think of ways to spend time with her, when it used to be so easy.

They strolled barefoot along the beach and without noticing they were once more walking hand in hand. It felt nice. Feeling the heat of the afternoon sun Jess rolled up the ends of her jeans and paddled in the water. Nick couldn't resist flicking up his toes in the water and splashing her.

"Hey!" She turned around trying her best to sound horrified but her huge smile gave her away. "No fair!" She quickly started jumping and skipping through the water, getting Nick as wet as possible in the process.

"Challenge accepted." Nick declared.

"What the hell does that even mean Miller?"

Before she knew it he was chasing her down the beach along the shore line. He let her get slightly ahead of him. She was now running and she had no clue why, but this was the first time she genuinely felt _happy_ after the breakup. It was weird that the person you broke up with was the person helping you get through the breakup and she knew for a fact she wasn't the only one feeling this way. It broke her heart to have to sleep alone each and every night and she could always hear Nick across the hall tossing and turning restlessly. Unable to sleep. In the end he always ended up going to the fridge and grabbing a beer. She knew what he was going through because she was exactly the same.

As her mind wandered, she didn't notice Nick so close behind her until it was too late and he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and spun her around in circles. They were both completely out of breath and in fits of laughter gasping for air. Eventually he set Jess down as he still kept his tight hold on her stomach. He smiled at nothing in particular. He let his hands drop and he fell back into the sands feeling a hell of a lot better than he did this morning. He lay back flat in the sand with his arms crossed under his head to form a makeshift pillow. He squinted his eyes in the afternoon sun to look up and see her standing above him. Her jumped now thoroughly soaked, hands on her hips, cheeks flushed and her cherry red lips pouted. She was beautiful.

"What can I say?" He said in a cocky tone, "I guess I have a talent for getting you really wet." He wiggled his eyebrows and Jess was not impressed with the stupid smirk on his face.

"Not funny Miller."

"Yeah it is"

Jess sat down beside him and playfully swatted his side. She sat down to his right and watched him enjoy the rays of sun on his unshaven face. Her mind began to wander back to a time when things were much simpler and they were living on a beach in Mexico. He was paradise Nick and she was paradise Jess. She let out a sigh and Nick turned his head to the side to see what was wrong. She was drawing circles in the sand with her index finger, he could see her mind was somewhere else in that moment.

"Whatca' thinking about Day?"

"Nothing...you..._us_." She looked at him, the spark no longer present in her eyes._  
_

"I know." he reached for her hand and interlaced their fingers.

"Why are we doing this Nick?" Her voice strained, "We are both clearly unhappy and this whole thing is breaking my heart. It sounds so cheesy but my heart literally hurts." Her voice broke with her last sentence as silent tears began to fall.

"Hey, hey, Jess. Ssshh ssshh." He sat up at her side and wrapped his left arm around her, pulling her into his embrace. He let his fingers rake up and down her back as he tried his best to sooth her. She turned to hide her face on his shoulder.

"I love you so much Nick. I love you so much it hurts."

"Jessica I love you to infinity and beyond."

With his awful attempt at a meaningful movie quote, Jess chuckled in his ear as she held him even tighter. She turned to look into his beautiful brown eyes.

She raised both eyebrows, "Really Nick?"

"Dammit I need to watch more movies you haven't seen!" He smiled at being able to cheer her up but deep down he felt his stomach drop knowing he was the one causing her this pain.

He leaned his head towards her and gave her a gentle peck on her lips. As he did so he felt the corners of her mouth turn up once more.

"Jess I know we will be ok. And one day we will get married and you'll pop out 12 lil' Miller-Day's..."

"Hey, don't push it!"

"Anyway my point is I love you Jessica Day. And I know I want to be with you for the rest of my life. But I don't wanna' screw that up by rushing back into things."

"Nice save, Miller." She said as she smiled up at him, "Ditto"


	3. Chapter 3

"So...are you _dating_ Nick?" Cece asked with a hopeful tone in her voice, raising her eyebrows.

"Urgh Cece, I don't know it's not that simple."

Jess threw herself onto her bed, lying on her back with her eyes staring at the ceiling.

"Well are you sleeping with him?"

"NO!" Jess half screamed.

"But you want to..." Cece teased a wicked smile on her face.

"YES! No..I mean yes." Jess' mind was spinning.

Why on earth did this conversation sound so familiar? Oh yeah that time she had this very same conversation with Nick freaking Miller before they nearly did it on the table but their intentions were interrupted by a broken fish tank.

"Jess.."

"What?" Jess replied coming back to reality from her flashback.

"You kinda' left me for a minute there, you ok babe?"

"I don't know what my move is with Nick is."

"I've an idea." Cece said grinning.

"God Ceec, this better not be another one of your crazy ideas..."

"Jess when have I ever let you down? You trust me right?"

"Well yeah of course."

"Ok stay here. One minute." Cece quickly exited Jess' bedroom clutching her phone tightly to her chest. She made a brief phone call and came back into the room to find Jess sat perched on the edge of her bed expectantly.

"So?" Jess asked.

"Guess who is the best friend in the world?" Cece beamed

"Ok spill, what's your big idea?"

"I managed to pull in a few favours and long story short, you and Nick are going on a sex-cation."

"A what?" Jess choked out.

"Like a stay-cation but for sex. You are going on a dirty long weekend break." Cece watched to see what her friend's reaction would be.

As soon as the words left Cece's mouth Jess began to panic, the colour draining from her face.

"Well what do you think?" Cece asked, but it was obvious her friend wasn't too convinced. "C'mon Jess its a really nice wooden cabin, it's secluded so no one else around to interrupt." she winked.

"I dunno...we have only just started talking again and it seems a bit soon, but on the other hand I do really want to go." Jess said weighing up the pros and cons.

"Ok then it's settled, you are going. But first we need to go shopping."

* * *

They arrived back to the loft after a few hours shopping for the perfect outfit and headed straight to Jess' room again to hide their purchases.

Cece was about to leave but before she did she turned on her heels and handed Jess another bag of shopping.

"Cece I have all my stuff, that's definitely yours."

"Trust me on this Jess."

"Ok you are making me nervous." She let out a nervous laugh.

Jess looked at the bag and as she seen what store it was from her eyes widened.

"Cece!" she said in a high pitch whisper. "That's a _sex _shop."

"I went in when you were buying more yarn." Cece grinned, "Promise me you won't peak until you are away this weekend."

"Fine, but I can't promise you I'll use whatever's in that bag...especially if it is anything like what Schmidt purchases..."

Cece just laughed, "Nope it's better. Ok babe I'm away. I'll text you the details later. Call me when you get there."

"Sure. Now all I have to do is convince Nick."

"Jess, that guy is crazy about you. There's no way he'll say no."

"If you say so." Jess said doubtfully.

**Please review. I love getting feedback to see what you think of my writing.**


	4. Chapter 4

It was 1am and Jess was still awake. Lying in her bed tossing and turning, sleep not coming. She was still unsure how to ask Nick if he wanted to go away with her for the weekend. She knew Cece was right and it was pretty likely he would say yes to the whole idea.

Nick was still at the bar. He had mentioned to her earlier that he would be back late as he was closing up tonight. Jess let out a sigh as she pulled the covers off and went to the kitchen to make some green tea. She sat down on one of the kitchen bar stools and sipped her hot drink, smiling as it warmed her insides. Somehow tea always made things better. She was sitting daydreaming as she finished the remainder of the liquid when she was brought back to reality with the sound of the loft door clicking shut.

It was Nick. Great - she still hadn't a clue what to say. How about "_Hey Nicholas, I know we broke up like a week ago but do you want to have mind blowing dirty sex all weekend?" _or _"Do you want to spend a whole weekend with your now ex-girlfriend?". SHIT _was all she could think as he rounded the corner and seen her.

"Hey...you're up...late..." was all Nick managed to say.

_Why was he acting weird as if she had caught him with his hand in the cookie jar?_

In her half daydreaming state Jess had failed to notice the tall leggy blonde standing behind Nick. Tears began to pool in her eyes behind the thick black rims of her glasses. She sharply sucked in air trying to hold it together.

The woman was hot, there was no denying it. She was wearing a short skin tight black skirt and a low cut colourful patterned top that showed off her ample cleavage. Even at a glance Jess could see she was drunk and swaying slightly in her high heels which were black to match her skirt.

She slid down off the bar stool without saying a word. She placed her mug in the sink before making a dash for the safety of her room, with her eyes fixed to the wooden floor.

"Jess! Hey, Jess wait up." he shouted after her, not caring that the others in the loft were probably sleeping.

Jess quickly locked the door behind her and slid down the door frame to the floor. _How could she be so stupid? __Did she just imagine him saying all that stuff yesterday?_

Nick rested his forearms on her door, his forehead also pressing against the cold wood.

"Jess please let me explain, it's not what you think."

Jess sat in silence, her small frame propped up against the door.

"Oooohhhh bartender" the voice of the blonde slurred in her drunken state. "Come on don't be a jerk. You can't take me back to your place and then just leave me standing here. I know you said no earlier but I know you want it."

"Would you be quiet for one freaking second." Nick tried to remain calm as he tried to think of what to do.

"Just because your girlfriends pissed at you doesn't mean you can take it out on me."

That was it. He had heard enough. "Hang on Jess, I'll be right back." Nick said, hoping that she was still listening.

Nick took a deep breath in and out trying his best to remain calm. He walked over to the blonde and took her phone of her as she protested but in her drunken state wasn't able to put up much of a fight.

"What's your address?"

Nick called her a taxi and took her outside and helped her into the cab, handing her some cash to get her home. Then he went back to his previous position standing in front of Jess' bedroom door.

"You still up?" he asked. "I'm sorry I was being really stupid but I couldn't leave the girl at the bar in that state. I should of ordered her a cab then but I wasn't thinking. Jess please talk to me."

Nick froze as he heard the latch of her door unlock.

**Please please review. It will make my day. **


	5. Chapter 5

She looked into his eyes for a split second before turning and getting back under the covers, lying on her side and facing away from him.

He stood in the doorway unsure, mouth slightly open as he tried to think of something to say.

"Don't just stand there, you coming to bed or what?" She said as her eyelids closed.

Nick didn't need to be asked twice. He closed the door behind him and took off his jeans and button down shirt so he was just wearing his boxers and t shirt. The bed dipped slightly as he got in beside her. She moved backwards towards him so that he was practically spooning her. She then blindly reached behind her and pulled his hand and wrapped his arm around her. Nick lay in silence unsure if saying nothing was best right now.

To his relief Jess broke the silence, "I'm sorry for being a bitch, you didn't need that drama after work."

Nick took his chances and tilted his head to lay a trail of kisses down her neck.

Jess hummed in appreciation. "Can we just forget the whole thing ever happened?" She whispered into the darkness.

"Most definitely. Goodnight Day."

With her body wrapped in Nick's she managed to drift off into sleep. Nick tried his best to fight of the tiredness, reveling in the feeling of her body against his once more but eventually he gave into sleep.

* * *

When Jess woke up the next morning she felt well rested for a change. She sighed as she stretched her arms after being curled up beside Nick all night. She rolled over expecting to see Nick still asleep but when she turned to face him she found he was already awake.

"Hi, how long have you been up?" She asked him.

"Long enough." He smiled and leaned down to kiss her.

Jess wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Nick let his hands roam to caress every square inch of her soft pale skin. His fingers feathered underneath her pyjama top, only pausing for a second when his thumbs grazed the side of her boobs. He opened his eyes as did Jess due to him stopping. He gazed into her beautiful blue eyes searching them for silent permission to continue. Jess smiled and giggled as she nodded her head.

"Do it." She whispered into his ear in a low husky voice before taking his earlobe between her teeth and biting down.

"Fuuuuck Jess" Nick moaned.

This caused Jess to giggle which turned him on even more.

Without warning he grabbed her boobs and squeezed gently. Jess' laughter soon turned into soft moans. At that very moment Nick Miller realised how much this beautiful, smart, funny, sexy woman meant to him. He knew he loved her but in that moment it hit him all at once.

He let his thumbs graze over her hard pink nipples before moving to straddle on top of her, unbuttoning her top to reveal her breasts in all their glorious beauty as she lay bathed in the glow of the morning sunlight that was penetrating through the gaps in her navy blue curtains. She was the definition of perfection as she lay there with her messy bed-head her checks tinged pink and her chest rising and falling rhythmically. She looked up at him as she bit her lower lip, the corners of her mouth turning upwards.

He pinned her wrists above her head, lowering himself to lick and suck her nipples. Jess writhed and squirmed beneath him.

"I missed this" Nick eventually said when he came up for air, "I missed..._you_ Jess."

He let go of his grip on her wrists and Jess sat up quickly and wasted no time in turning the tables. She was now sitting on Nick's lap as they sat upright on her bed, her arms wrapped around his neck once more.

"Um Nick...can I ask you something?" Her eyes avoiding his intense stare.

"Jessica your glorious boobs are currently in my face, you can ask me anything you want doll-face."

_Nick was certainly on good form for someone who isn't a morning person, she thought to herself_.

Jess tried her best to fight back a smile. "Are you free this weekend?"

"Yeah...why?"

"Okay so you totally don't have to go if you don't want to...It's a really stupid idea anyway..."

"Wow Jess you're not really selling this idea of yours...get to the point."

"Erm...well...I was wondering if you would like to go away this weekend?" She finished unconvincingly.

_Less than ten minutes ago he was practically ripping her top off, why the hell was she so nervous?_

"Are you kidding? A whole weekend with you; alone? Of course!"

"Really?" Jess said, genuinely surprised by his enthusiasm, "You didn't even ask where."

"Don't care. If you're going I'm in. No way you're leaving me with those three dummies by myself."

Jess tried testing the waters, "Is that the _only_ reason?"

"Yup." Nick replied, smiling as she pouted. She looked so cute. "Of course not, I want to go 'cause I can do this" he place his hand firmly behind her back for extra support and motor boated her before continuing his sentence, "without being interrupted."

"Mmmm" Jess hummed, "I think that's a good enough reason...I'll let you come."

Nick only had to make eye contact with her for her to realise her mistake in using a word laced with double meaning and endless innuendoes. He let out a chuckle knowing that she had meant it innocently.

"Not one word, Miller."

* * *

They arrived at the cabin late Friday afternoon while there were still a few hours of daylight left. Jess, who was sound asleep for most of the drive, got out of the car to stretch her legs as Nick headed to the boot and began to haul their overnight bags inside. When he picked up her bags he was surprised at how deceivingly heavy. Why did girls feel the need to bring so much stuff? If it was up to him Jess wouldn't be needing any of the clothes she packed. But although things went really well the other night, there was still an unspoken awkwardness. Nick was most definitely confused with the blurred lines. Could he make out with her? Touch her upper boob? He honestly doesn't know where he stands with her at this point And he was hoping this weekend would change that.

**As always please review. I love hearing what you think. **


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